Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
Close Encounters is a landmark of wonder-driven science fiction. Spielberg's direction and Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography are genuinely exceptional — the light-drenched UFO sequences and the climactic Devils Tower contact scene remain visually stunning. The film's novelty is high: its tone of awe and spiritual longing rather than alien-threat menace was singular for its era and remains distinctive. The ending is one of cinema's great set pieces — the musical communication and mothership reveal land with real emotional weight. The plot is serviceable but somewhat meandering in its middle act, and while Dreyfuss is charismatic, the ensemble acting is competent rather than transformative.